Official Withdrawal Policy

The Bergen Community College’s Official Withdrawal policy can be found at:
https://bergen.edu/registration/official-withdrawals/

Withdrawal Offices

Students receiving financial aid assistance (grants, scholarships or loans) or participating in specific programs including NJ STARS Program, Athletics Program, Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) program, Veterans, Honors, STEM, Title V, Summer Intensive, etc...  must contact the respective office/department or academic counselors prior to any withdrawal action.
A list of Withdrawal Offices’ contact information – where students can refer to for course drop/withdrawal questions and assistance – is accessible under Registration /Official Withdrawals (https://bergen.edu/registration/official-withdrawals/)

Financial Aid Return of Funds

When a student ceases attendance (officially &/or unofficially) from all of their classes, they may no longer be eligible for the full amount of funds originally posted to their account.
Under Federal regulations, Bergen Community College will calculate the amount of earned funds during the semester the student withdrew based on their last date of attendance.

Formula and Example

The formula used to determine the financial aid a student is eligible for after a withdrawal is a pro rata based on the number of days completed vs. the number of days in the semester:

  • Earned % (financial aid eligibility after withdrawal) = Number of Days Completed (using last date of attendance) ÷ Total Days in Semester
  • Unearned % (financial aid to be returned) = 100% (financial aid originally awarded) – Earned % (financial aid eligibility after withdrawal)

For example, if you completed 30% of the semester, you will have earned 30% of the federal aid you received or were originally scheduled to receive.

Note: At the 60% point of a semester the students will be considered to have earned all their Federal Aid.

Order of Return of Funds

Funds are returned in the order specified by the R2T4 regulations:

  1. Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loan
  2. Subsidized Federal Direct Loan
  3. Federal Direct Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS)
  4. Federal Pell Grant
  5. Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant
  6. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)

Any unearned grant funds are repaid at fifty (50%) of the original amount received or scheduled to receive.
A $50 or less grant repayment amount does not have to be repaid.



Method of Return of Funds by the Student

The student (or parent, if a Federal PLUS loan) must return the unearned funds for which they are responsible to loan programs in accordance with the terms of the loan, and to grant programs as an overpayment.
Grant overpayments are subject to repayment arrangements satisfactory to the school, or overpayment collection procedures prescribed by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.

Student Notification of Aid Recalculation

Students receive an email notification to their college and personal email accounts outlining that they have withdrawn from all term classes and their aid may have been adjusted.
The student is instructed to review the aid and the student account on self-service for any adjustment and open/outstanding balance.

Post-Withdrawal Disbursement of Federal Direct Loan

If the students earned funds that were not yet disbursed they may be eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement.
The student is given fourteen (14) days from the date of the post-withdrawal disbursement notification email to request the reinstatement of the loans.
To receive a post-withdrawal of loan funds the student must contact Bergen requesting the reinstatement of the loan(s).

Return of Federal Aid and Institutional Refund Policies

Federal Aid will be returned according to the formula outlined above, and is separate from Bergen’s policy.
The result of the return of federal aid maybe that a student now has an outstanding debt on the student account for institutional charges.
The outstanding debt can be viewed on the student’s Self-Service portal (my.bergen.edu).
The student must then follow the Bursar’s policy for how to pay their outstanding balance.